Since I’m on the topic of the ribosome, let me talk a bit about another group member working on the ribosome: Paula Petrone. Paula’s background is physics and biophysics. Her work in FAH has been involved in two areas: 1) developing new ways to significantly speed FAH MD simulations with larger time step integration and 2) studies of the ribosome, understanding the chemical nature of the ribosome tunnel (discussed in the last few posts). Her work sheds light on what proteins and antibiotics would see in the tunnel. Along the way, she’s made a very interesting discovery in her simulations, which could have a big impact on our understanding of how the ribosome works. We’re awaiting peer review on that paper and I’ll give more details once the paper is further along. This project is joint with other ribosomers in the group (Del Lucent — previously highlighted — and now former FAH team member Chris Snow).